Unbroken Fragments: A Story of Returning to Ourselves
In 2010, Sam Shaw (age 5) and I had our first collaboration. It was called Bedtime Stories Revisited and showed in the Marvin Embree Gallery just a few steps from where we are today. This would begin years of collaborating on a multitude of exhibits, writing and growth. Collaborating with Samuel when he was young, helped shape how I wanted to parent him. I have sought to create space for him and to honor his unique view of the world. He has a strong voice and I hope to empower it. Today Sam is 18 and we have our final collaboration in the place where it all started.
Samuel has always played a vital role in my life as an artist. He is a collaborator, trusted critic, advisor and always the first set of eyes to see anything I make. He knows me and my work better than anyone and I have found his input invaluable.
I am grateful for the gift of art and art-making in my life and in Samuel’s as well. These collaborations have given us a space to explore externally what might otherwise only be an internal conversation. As we have both grown, our conversations have deepened and often circle back to our Chickasaw/Choctaw heritage. Like many native folks today, we have longings, pain, feelings of separation & exile and lots of questions. What does it mean for us to be Chickasaw today? How do we live with this sense of being in two worlds? How do we embody things that the dominant culture tried to eradicate? And how can we honor our ancestors with the ways we live today? These conversations have been a gift to me and I hope they serve Samuel as well.
This body of work is a window in to the multitude of conversations and experiences Samuel and I have shared over the years. It’s a glimpse into the difficult, but good work of understanding what it means for us to embody our American Indian heritage. It’s a remembrance of what our ancestors endured. It is a story of returning to ourselves. It is a declaration. We are still here!
Erin Shaw, December 2024
Unbroken Fragments is the next step in my continual collaboration of life with my mother. It truly is a return to who we are at our cores as we return to our collaborations in my early life for guidance and as we spend time searching ourselves for what makes us up at our lowest and highest points.
We (Chickasaw) were almost eradicated more than once. Many did not want us to make it this far in history. It’s miraculous in itself that we get to walk, let alone walk with our creator as we create. I’m proud to have the opportunity to represent both myself and my people in sharing my voice with all of you, alongside my ancestors. We spent a lot of man hours on this project and hope you enjoy the show.
Sam Shaw, December 2024
